cblock406

Hello Everyone,

Been a member here for a while but I sold my last Acura, a 1998 GSR, back in 2008 for a 99 M3 and have been a pretty die hard BMW guy ever since.

Thought it was time to get a journal started as I picked up my TL last week and will start getting parts in next week for it.

Background: My wife and I bought it from a good friend of mine's (who has since passed away) parents who are the original owners. I told them along time ago I would buy it if they ever wanted to sell it and, well, a few years later they took me up on it! Kind of cool it has a bit of instant sentimental value.

We flew to Great Falls MT (my hometown) last Wednesday, and drove it back to Bellevue Washington. As of right now it has 67k and some change on it.

This won't really be a build thread as it will remain pretty tame, especially compared to some of the builds on here. I have a couple BMW's that are the project cars and a 98 4Runner that I am always working and spending money on. This will be the reliable (hopefully) daily driver. Really love driving it although it is quite a bit bigger than I am used to, even compared to our 4Runner.

I just ordered from Endless RPM:
-H&R Sport Springs (for the base)
-15/20mm wheel spacers
-Progress Rear Sway Bar
-interior LED package
-3rd and 4th gear pressure switches (OEM)
-WeatherTech Floor Mats
-ZKW-R lenses

That should keep me busy and content for a few weekends. Will also be doing the usual fluid/filter changes etc.

And if that was TLDR, no worries, here are a couple pics I snapped on our drive back to Washington.





And if anyone cares, here are the other cars this is joining:

97 328i


98 M3


and the 4Runner


Phew! Sorry for such a long post. It will be a few weeks before I get time to start wrenching on the TL but there will be updates soon.

Cheers,
Christian

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

cblock406

Thanks! I actually went through your car thread and Nexus thread when I started lurking on this site again. Your TL is extremely nice and I will be referring to your tablet thread for sure in the future!

guitarplayer16

iTrader: (8)

im just here to admire the pro pictures

Ossman14

cblock406

Thanks! Far from pro but appreciate it!

Yeah, I have a feeling that will be me too!

90foxnotch

Ive never seen a purple M3, that is gorgeous! Good luck with your 3g enjoy it

sockr1

iTrader: (5)

thanks, appreciate that! let me know if you have any questions! about tablet or anything in general, i've had my TL now 10 years haha

cblock406

I've been working crazy hours since getting the car but had today off and gave it it's first real cleaning. Just clay barred, sealed, and waxed it. It really needs a polish but that will be another day.

Also collected some parts, not pictured is the 20/15mm spacers and zkw-r lenses.

]

Also installed some Blue Tooth today:



Threw in the Weather Tech's. I've never had a set of these but they are pretty awesome, they fit perfectly.



The engine compartment was absolutely filthy, guessing it has never been cleaned:





Gave it a good cleaning/semi detail:





Pulled the license plate bracket off and added an EndlessRPM Acura Decal, and sanded and polished the headlights. Guessing I can get plugs for the license plate holes?





Next up is to get the rest of my parts on, in no particular order:
Springs, sway bar, and spacers
3rd and 4th gear pressure switches
cabin and engine air filter
blacked out headlights and install my zkw-r headlight lenses

cblock406

Thanks! Techno Violiet is the color, not rare but not one of the more common colors, especially with black interior. I drove it for the first time today since getting the TL, very different driving experience. The TL is very plush and comfortable lol.

Ossman14

Slpr04UA6

90foxnotch

Looks great, I wish it was a 6mt but hey you've got the m3 for that! But yes, these cars are very comfortable. Im installing koni yellows/H&R springs Friday. Pretty pumped

cblock406

Haha, pretty much!

Thanks! Definitely looking forward to getting that stuff on.
Thank you and good luck with your suspension install! I would have loved a six speed but this is will mainly be my wife's car so...Automatic it is. I do really want to swap in the MT Brembo's but that will be a ways into the future, if at all.

I put my spacers on this afternoon. I was going to wait and put them on the same time the springs go on but I got impatient. Can't have easy to install parts just sitting around. Looks okay but I think it gives the illusion that it sits even higher now.





Changed the cabin filter this afternoon. Pretty dirty but not the worst I've seen.



Also changed the air filter. The filter itself was pretty clean but the air box was disgusting.



Yuck!



Oh, and I threw on my forum sticker!



That's all for now. Friday morning I am dropping the car off at an exhaust shop and having them straight pipe the 3rd muffler, so level 1 exhaust I think? Hopefully it is very mild, just want to hear the engine every once in a while lol.

90foxnotch

eastcoastguy

Car looks great!!!!!

jazz6554

Great find! Best of luck with it

cblock406

Thanks guys, appreciate it!

Last Friday I took the car to an exhaust shop to have the 3rd muffler taken out and they removed the muffler and the resonator, against my instruction. Guess I wasn't clear enough.

It is definitely louder than I would like and my wife is not very happy about it so looks like it will probably be going back on. Frustrating. Anyone else do this and lived with it?

theCoffeeFiend

iTrader: (2)

I got my mid muffler removed and is slightly louder than stock. I definitely can live with that sound, and I've had some pretty loud cars previously. Since the oem resonator has been removed, I would recommend adding an aftermarket resonator. Most guys go with a Dynomax 24215 upgrade. It will reduce the loudness and eliminate the drone. Hope it works out with the wife lol

Midnight Mystery

WOW!!! That's a clean TL!!!!


Where did you get that forum decal?

I've been trying to get one for years...

cblock406

cblock406

Ebay actually! Just search Acurazine

Slpr04UA6

90foxnotch

That would be frustrating, you almost have to go under the car with them while its on the lift and show what you want done, my plan is to do muffler delete only and keep stock resonator. I already have PCDs and a jpipe with 3rd cat and the car is still really quiet. Nice progress man

BreezyTL

iTrader: (8)

I can help you get there quicker!!! I have a Driver Side caliper and a passenger side knuckle I could sell you. Let me know if you are interested.

The car looks great! I would suggest adding the dynomax resonator and leaving the mid muffler off.

cblock406

Thanks, appreciate it.

Thanks! I'd possibly be interested, want to PM me? And think I will do that resonator, I don't want to pay to have the stock setup put back on. Probably should have just bought a catback but oh well.

2.2Lude

Go "Stage 2" with the Magna-flow resonator instead of the "Stage 3" Dynomax resonator route. It'll be less raspy, deeper, and quieter sounding. You'll mainly notice it between 2.5k-4k and again it sounds good not loud, droney, or raspy. Your wife will appreciate it more too.
Here is the resonator info:

Magnaflow 10425 Performance Muffler 2.25" Center/Center 4x4x18 Round Stainless

I got mine off eBay for $60 best offer from seller Partsdriven:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Magnaflow-1...Ddzd:rk:1:pf:1

Btw the "stage" terminology for exhaust resonators and "mid muffler", which is just another resonator, doesn't really fit for me but eh.

Relentless84

Subscribing especially for the photography lol. You running the H&Rs on your stock struts?

cblock406

Thanks man, I like how that is 2.25 inch also, appreciate it! Looking to get this exhaust fixed in the next couple of weeks.

Thank you! I'm planning on trying them on the stock struts and seeing how they perform.

Sorry no updates, been busy at work and messing around with the other cars. My work slows way down in December so planning on getting the springs, sway bar, and headlights done before the end of the year.

cblock406

Happy New Year everyone!

I don't want to start a thread and have it go into obscurity but sadly I have not touched the TL other than for an oil change since my last update. I've been busy working on & spending money on some other vehicles, however, and thought some of you might be interested to see. At least it's an update with some pics, but if not appropriate please let me know.

First was new wheels and tires for the 4Runner. This had the benefit of correcting a terrible vibration I couldn't get balanced out of the other set.



I finished my trunk setup in the E36, nothing fancy but it's clean and gets the job done.





And I bought some OZ Mito's for it as well. Kind of a dream set of wheels for me.



And went out shooting with a friend a few days before Christmas for some red and green themed photos (his pic, not mine):



That about sums up the last couple months. TL is next up on the horizon!

truonghthe

E36 M3 sedan yeh? nice I like the post 98 where they give the motor extra power, by far the most reliable BMW is the E36 series.

mhtut83

Sub'd because of another NBP 3rd Gen! Man...all these TLs you guys picked up are super clean! I guess you have to go mid-west and west to find nice ones? Living on the east coast where salt from winter and rust are so prevalent, its so hard to find a clean one. Especially because I live in NYC where people don't have garages and have to park their cars on the streets (including me ).

cblock406

The red car is a 328i, but I do have a 98 M3 that is pictured earlier in the thread. There was a small bump in displacement from 95-96 along with a small bump in power. 98 wasn't a change year, but 2001 they released the S54 engine which is one of the best BMW straight 6's.

East coast would be hard, I don't think I could ever live on that side of the country. Cars in the PNW are particularly nice, probably on par with CA cars. Montana not so much, but the car we picked up was pretty immaculate, always garaged, and stored for most of the winter. It definitely pays to travel for a clean one though, good luck with your search!